Here’s a Chicago-Style Bakery Apple Slices recipe — soft, buttery, and loaded with sweet cinnamon apples 🍎🥧
Chicago-Style Bakery Apple Slices
Yields: 12–16 slices
Time: ~1 hour
Ingredients
For the Dough / Base:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2–3 tbsp cold water
For the Apple Filling:
- 3–4 medium apples (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and sliced thin
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp flour or cornstarch
For the Topping (optional crumb topping):
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp butter, cold, cubed
Instructions
- Make the dough / crust
- In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time until dough comes together.
- Press dough into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Bake 10 minutes at 180°C / 350°F to set slightly.
- Prepare the apple filling
- In a bowl, toss apple slices with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and flour/cornstarch.
- Assemble
- Spread apple mixture evenly over partially baked crust.
- Optional: make crumb topping by mixing flour, brown sugar, and butter until crumbly, then sprinkle over apples.
- Bake
- Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 30–35 minutes until apples are tender and topping (if used) is golden.
- Cool & slice
- Let cool completely before slicing into squares or rectangles, like bakery-style slices.
Tips & Variations
- Extra moist & flavorful: Brush apples with a little melted butter before baking.
- Glaze: Brush baked slices with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk for a shiny finish.
- Spice: Add a pinch of allspice or ginger to the filling for warmth.
- Storage: Keep covered at room temperature 2–3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days.
I can also give a simpler one-pan version that doesn’t require making a crust from scratch, perfect for a quick “bakery-style” apple slice.
Do you want me to do that?
